Vik Patel is a man driven by two different business passions: the fast breakfast fare of Dunkin’ Donuts and the upscale bar atmosphere of craft-beer emporium The Brass Tap Bar & Grill. Through his Purple Square Management company, Patel oversees 22 Dunkin’ units and, now, his first Brass Tap...

In October, coffee giant Starbucks revised its employee appearance policy that marked some body adornments off limits. The news gave the industry a moment to consider the links between employee dress and branding and morale.
Starbucks baristas previously could not display any facial piercings or...

Guests who walk into the Wetzel’s Pretzels store at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California, will notice something different about the store. Its digital menuboards quickly switch from product photos and information to short animated films, not unlike the style of old Walt Disney shorts.
All of the...

After working nearly 30 years in television syndication selling off-network reruns and first-run TV shows, Paul Danylik made a bold shift.
He sought out a new career and a franchise to take on, knowing that comfort food was a good bet for long-term success. A longtime fan of Handel’s Ice Cream...

It’s fair to say that 2014 has been as eventful a year for quick-service restaurants as the industry has seen in quite a while. Changing demographics and sharper competition have sparked a variety of innovations, but also exposed some weaknesses. And the unrelenting march of technology is changing...

As the executive pastry chef at the White House during George W. Bush’s second term, Thaddeus DuBois cooked for world leaders, dignitaries, celebrities, and political powerbrokers. Now the award-winning culinary artisan is dishing up tasty treats for the masses at the Borgata Baking Company located...

After 39 years in the quick-serve industry, I still find it a privilege to do what I do. This is such a rewarding business for those who are willing to put in the time and the effort. I remember working at Mike’s Subs, the local sub shop on the Jersey Shore, when I was 14 years old. After about...

This summer, Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons made quite the splash: The brand covered one of its Québec locations in blackout materials to promote its new dark roast coffee. Equipped with night-vision goggles, employees handed guests samples of the brew, and the action was all captured in two-...

With 20 entries on QSR’s Growth 40 report, an annual listing of the 40 U.S. markets best positioned for quick-service restaurant expansion, the South’s dominance shines from Florida to Texas and up to the Mason-Dixon line in markets big and small.

The launch of a new product line is a noteworthy event for any quick-serve. But for Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, its new potato chips are a mere side item to a meatier rollout: a foundation to benefit law enforcement officers and firefighters.

Asking how a chain and an independent restaurant differ may seem like a deceptively simple question, with the most obvious answer being that independents have one unit—or maybe two, according to an official definition from The NPD Group—while chains are larger in both size and scale.

The fast-casual renaissance that has taken over the restaurant industry in the last decade has lately infused excitement and momentum into the broader limited-service sector. Market research firm Mintel found that sales at fast-casual restaurants grew 10.5 percent last year, compared with 6.1...

While the fast-casual category continues to be the fastest-growing industry sector, the road in 2015 will be bumpy. We will see constant change and challenges around every corner. For industry leaders, there are issues that will keep even the most seasoned executive awake at night.
Here is my top...

Convenience stores are increasingly taking a larger slice out of the quick-serve pie with fresh food offerings. It’s become such a lucrative business for C-stores that Sheetz, the Pennsylvania-based C-store chain that this week opened its 500th location, is planning stores designed more as fast...

Kevin Kester’s family has been farming in the U.S. for generations. And it’s not just a couple of generations they’ve been farming; more like generations upon generations, way back to the 1600s, specifically in California since the 1860s. Today, Kester owns a 22,000-acre beef cattle ranch in...

Though U.S. consumption is well below other proteins today, seafood will likely be an increasingly important part of the American diet in the years to come. The country’s population is predicted to grow by 89 million between 2010 and 2050 to 401 million people. More people require more food—and...

When fast-casual chain Zoës Kitchen Inc. debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last April, the Plano, Texas–based Mediterranean-style eatery recorded its initial public offering at $87.5 million. Satisfying an investor appetite for investments within the trendy fast-casual space, Zoës’ strong...

When Lori Newcomb found out she had stage III ovarian cancer last year, she made it her mission to learn more about the disease and help other women fighting the same battle. She sat down with her husband, Chris Newcomb, cofounder and CEO of Southern quick-service chain Newk’s Eatery, and together...